The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-04-14
THE GREAT IOWA GEYsER.
Efforts to Control 1t
How 1t BreatheS.
Ffonl Me Belle Tlaine IA Ul.ion.

From the Belle PlGiile (Id.) Ultion
We have hoped from week to
week to be able to announce the
successful stoppage or control of
our great well, but week after week has
passed with no further promise of success,
and while we have contemplated giving a
full history Of this wonderful well and the
attempt to control it,, the demand for par
ticulars of its present condition impels lis to
give some facts even though the complete
sketch be left for a future time.
The first attempts to control the well
We're, first, the insertion of l6-inch pipe
made of onequarter inch boiler iron.
Seventy -seven feet of this was inserted, and
went ont of sight. Next, an immense cone,
made of boiler iron, ~ feet long and 40 inches
across at its base, with IS feet of 5-inch iron
pipe attached, was let down. This, too,
dropped down out of sight. The situation
when Mr.. Kink, the present contractor,
took charge was:
The water was boiling up at the surface,
while the iron pipe and cone were both down
the well-sOmewhere It was believed that
these could be felt by soundings, but it is
evident by present surroundings that they
have been gradually settling down into the
sand stratum from which the water comes.
Mr.. King put III pipe 10 inches in diane
ter 1t is made of 3-16th iron He succeed
ed III getting l63 feet and five inches of this
pipe in the hole before he met with an oh
struction which impeded its progress. This
leaves a space of 30 feet ana seven inches
from the bottom of bis casing 10 the bottom
of the original hole through the clay or the
upper side of the water stratum. The pre-
sumption is the obstruction met by his cas-
ing was the top Of the pipe or cone Origi-
nally put down. His next work was to throw
rock around the outside of the casing with
view of shutting off the flow outside and
driving it into the casing II is impossible to
say just how many feet he has
filled around the casing with rock.
but we are able to account for
over Is feet of stone filing. besides an
immense quantity of sand. clay, broken brick,
etc. During all this time the flow through
the casing was spasmOdic Some days it
would flow and others not. or the effort to
secure dead water by the erection of a dam
or tank it is not necessary to speak now.
After several Intellectual attempts to accom-
plish this a sounding Of the inside OF the cas-
ing was made. and il was found that it was
ChOked up with sand fully eleven feet from
the bottom This was pumped out and inn
mediately the water of came rushing out of
the casing, throwing out sand. There was
no little rejoicing over this, and it was be
leved to be the beginning of the end. But
the rejoicing was short-lived. After a couple
of hours the pipe and the rock filling
surrounding it took a drop. showing that the
sand had washed out from below. An at
tempt to raise the pipe was unsuccessful, and
it became necessary to lower the ditch which
carried the water off to correspond with
the mouth of the pipe. After this was done
more rock and clay was thrown in. The
water meanwhile was not coming out from
around the casing. So far there has been no
Roadway made in filling around the casing
1t settles down as fast as thrown in. One
day, after working all day hard, there was
foot less filling around the pipe than when
work began in the morning, and now of the
Seventy-five or more feet of filling he has
put in there is less then twenty feet of it
around the casing, so that the outlook for
filing up around the casing does not look
very encouraging. The water is now rush
ing out OF the casing with great force and
is vomiting out sand and gravel 1t is this
movement of sand that causes the settl z of
the rock and other filling. 1t is unfortunate,
too that in consequence of this new move
ment of sand and water the wells uptown
have been tapped and ceased to flow
The unknown quantity in the solving of
the problem of controlling this well is the
depth of the sand stratum from which the
water comes. II may be twenty-five feet
and it may be $50 or :, 800 1t now seems as
if the bottom of this presumably solid rock
must be found before a foundation can be
secured. 1t is evident that the big pipe and
the cone have both gone into this stratum
The presumption is that vacuum has been
created there immediately underneath the
hole, and the motion of the water keeps the
sand loose and in constant motion, so that
any weight will gradually settle down into
it. The pipe put in by Mr. King is held up
by chains fastened to cross ties on top Of
the ground. If it were not for this it
would probably settle like its predecessors
A peculiar fact regarding this well is its
seeming breathing, which is as regular as a
clock, and at rate of forty to fifty pulSa-
lions per minute. This has been noticeable
ever since the first break, and is more so
now since the water comes direct through
the casing.
We regret we are not able to announce the
attempt to control the well a success. 1t
would give us great pleasure to do so, but
we give the facts as they are, not as we
should like them To he